


Growing Up

by vanillaxo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers (2012) - Freeform, Gen, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Needs a Hug, Parent Tony Stark, Pepper is such a mom but doesn’t know it yet, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter and Morgan are Tony’s biological kids, Peter and Morgan are twins, idk how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22182403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillaxo/pseuds/vanillaxo
Summary: Having your father as Tony Stark made you grow up really fast.It was a week since the twins first came to the Leeds, and although they missed their dad and Aunt Pepper and Uncle Happy and practically their routine life, they also enjoyed the simplistic life that the Leeds had here and basked in its normalcy.That is, until aliens started attacking New York.-This takes place precisely during Avengers 1, and Peter and Morgan are Tony’s biological twins.
Relationships: Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 22
Kudos: 89





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, long time no see (read?)
> 
> This fic has been collecting dust in my notes since August of last year, so I decided to finish it and publish it, because why not. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy! X

“Levels are holding steady...” Pepper bit her lip as she looked at the screen in front of her, before adding, “I think.”

“Of course they are, I was directly involved,” Tony appeared, walking towards Pepper as she turned to face him. “Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius?”

Pepper turned around and let out a small, joking laugh, a smile on both hers and Tony’s faces. “I really wouldn't know now, would I?”

“What do you mean? All this came from you.”

“No. All this came from that,” She points to the reactor on his chest.

Tony placed his hands on Pepper’s arms. “Give yourself some credit, please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself... 12% of the credit.”

Pepper looks incredulously at her boyfriend. That man truly was something else. “Twelve percent?”

“An argument can be made for fifteen,” Tony added before Pepper good-naturedly rolled her eyes and walked away as Tony followed. 

“Twelve percent for my baby?”

“Talking about twelve and babies,” Tony suddenly interjected as he looked around the room. “Where are the munchkins?”

“Munchkin number one: present,” a voice chimed in, Peter now emerging from the hallway, followed by his sister.

“Hey, who says you get to be munchkin number one?” Morgan says, jokingly punching her twin on the arm. She suddenly pauses. “Wait, why are we still on this munchkin thing? Dad, I told you that we’re too old to be called munchkin now!”

Tony merely shrugged, a teasing smile on his face as he looked at his children.

Pepper rolled her eyes. “Your father will always view you both as his little babies, even if you are 12 years old now. You could be 50 and you’d still be his munchkins.”

“Very true,” Tony added, tapping away on the screen.

“Actually, we aren’t twelve yet. Technically we’re eleven until next week,” Peter added as he readjusted his glasses, following his dad to gaze at all the information displayed on the screen.

“Ah, a true Stark,” Tony said, ruffling Peter’s hair as he came to stand next to him.

Morgan rolled her eyes and went to Pepper. Pepper smiled and mouthed, “ _Boys_.”

As the four continued their usual familial and joking banter, Tony was suddenly bombarded with a call as Pepper excused herself to the bathroom.

“Mr Stark, we need to talk,” Phil Coulson’s voice could be heard through the phone.

“You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message.” This earned laughs from Morgan and Peter, who both had to put their hands over their mouths to remain quiet, making Tony have to hide his own smile.

“This is urgent.”

“Then leave it urgently,” Tony said, only slightly growing irritated. All he wanted was a few hours with his family-  uninterrupted \- was that so much to ask for?

The answer would seem to be yes, as the elevator doors slid open to which the agent appeared stepping into the penthouse.

“Security breach,” Tony said without malice or seriousness.

“Mr. Stark,” Phil looked almost amused.

Tony turned to his kids who were now standing awkwardly to the side. “You two,” Tony clicked his tongue and pointed to their new rooms. “Watch TV, take selfies, take a nap, whatever it is you kids do nowadays, just shoo.”

“Alright, alright, we get the point, Mr. Stark,” Peter teased, throwing his hands up in mock defense.

Tony sent him a glare at the nickname, before once more pointing to their rooms, trying to suppress a smile.

Morgan stuck her tongue out at her dad jokingly before she turned to her brother and whispered in his ear, causing them both to laugh loudly before they shut the door to the room.

“They’ve grown up a lot more since I last saw them. How old are they now?” Coulson asked, his trained eyes moving from the twins door to Tony’s eyes.

“Besides the point,” Tony waved him off, never feeling comfortable enough to talk about his kids to people since they were still hidden from the world- and would have still been hidden from S.H.I.E.L.D. if they hadn’t stuck their noses in places where it didn’t belong.

Ever since Tony became Iron Man, he became an even bigger target meaning that if the world knew about the twins, they’d become a target too. And that was a risk Tony refused to take.

“Phil!” Pepper exclaimed, reappearing in the room with a wide smile on her face. “Come in.”

Tony looked at Pepper and then Phil. “‘Phil’? Uh, his first name is ‘Agent.’”

-

“Hey aunt Pepper?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Is dad in trouble?”

Pepper stopped fiddling with her phone to turn in her seat to face the twins regardless of the movements of the car.

“No, of course he’s not in trouble, Morgan. He just has Iron Man things to do,” Pepper said, already accustomed to these questions since it seemed to grow more and more frequent now that Tony had “Iron Man” things to do.

“Being Iron Man means he is in trouble,” Morgan mumbled, heaving out a sigh as she turned her head to look out the window.

Pepper opened her mouth, then closed it before her eyes flickered over to Peter, who sat silently next to his sister, not looking too happy.

Pepper sighed. “Listen. I know it’s difficult having your dad be a superhero because while he’s out there saving lives, he’s also putting his own life at risk while doing so. I also know for a fact that it’s hard on Tony because he’s always thinking of you two. Just keep in mind that your dad is one of the best out there and he is  careful . Maybe he’ll even have other superheroes to watch his back for him from now on.”

Peter perked up. “Like Aunt Nat?”

Pepper internally cringed. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything when she wasn’t sure of all the details. “Maybe, sweetheart.”

The thought of their father not being completely on his own fighting bad guys out there seemed to make the two feel better as they settled into a comfortable silence.

When Happy eventually pulled the car to a stop, Pepper turned to the twins with guilty eyes. “You know, I’m really sorry that this is all last minute and that I can’t watch you guys, I-“

“It’s okay, Aunt Pepper. We understand. Plus, we like Ned anyways!” Peter interrupted- he loved Pepper but he swore that her guilt complex was almost as big as his dad’s. Almost.

“Yeah, we’ll be alright here. Thank you for everything, as usual,” Morgan said, smiling, as she went to hug her aunt the best she could in a car.

Pepper smiled and hugged both kids, before walking them to the front door and bidding them goodbye (“I’ll call every single day, and don’t forget to brush your teeth before bed!”)  _Sheesh_ , both kids wondered,  _why continue to call Pepper ‘Aunt Pepper’ when she’s more like our mother- especially given the fact that she technically would be if her and dad ever got married. Fingers crossed_ !

“Now what?” Morgan asked, letting out a deep sigh, throwing herself backwards onto her temporary bed in the Leeds household.

She would be staying in a shared room with Peter and Ned- though she had her own bed in the room while the two boys had to bunk together in one bed.

“I guess now we just wait for dad to figure all of this out,” Peter replied, doing the same but on his shared bed with his best friend.

“Wait, so, what exactly is going on?” Ned piped in, plopping down next to Peter. “Because mom and I were casually watching Friends and then she suddenly got a call from Pepper asking if it wasn’t too much to ask if you both stayed here for a while. Mom of course said yes, but she’s a bit confused too.”

Peter fidgeted with his fingertips before shrugging lightly. “Honestly, we don’t know much. One second we’re lighting up Stark Tower and the next Agent Coulson comes in with an urgent message and we’re sent to our rooms and then now we’ve been sent here.”

Ned’s eyes lit up at the mention of ‘Stark Tower’ but before he could ask, Morgan added with a slight roll of her eyes, “But of course, weasked JARVIS to give us access to listen in on their conversation outside. It didn’t sound too good... sounded like something’s about to go down and they need Iron Man’s help. Also something about the ‘Avengers’.”

Ned’s eyebrows furrowed. “What are ‘Avengers’?”

Peter shrugged, “Beats me.”

Ned sighed dreamily. “Your lives are so cool.”

Morgan crossed her arms, “Yeah, it’d be a lot cooler if our dad didn’t go out every now and then in a suit of armor and we’re left wondering if he’ll make it back to us alive.”

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

Ever since their dad became Iron Man, their whole lives had changed in every aspect possible. While it was the coolest thing ever for the twins at first, when the Mandarin had blown up their house and their father was pronounced (unofficially) dead was when they realized how scary the whole situation was.

Suffice to say, the kids had grown up a whole lot faster from that point on.

“I think it’s awesome that dad’s Iron Man,” Peter added, always being the one more star struck with the superhero life. Morgan frowned slightly. “Though, I agree that I wish it wasn’t so... dangerous. I don’t like dad going out there all alone and I don’t like not knowing if he’s okay or not.”

Ned’s eyes flickered between the twins before noting the tense atmosphere. He looked at his door. “Well, I think dinner should be ready any second now. Let’s head out and I’ll show you guys my new LEGO collection! Peter, you’ll love it!”

-

It had been a normal day.

A lot more normal than they were used to.

Usually, the Stark household was rarely ever normal.

So, the days spent in the Leeds household was a little more than welcome for the two.

There was no A.I. (although they both missed JARVIS’s witty quips), no superhero-ing, no having an entire penthouse to themselves, no lone breakfasts or dinners- it was a welcome change.

In the Leeds household, Ned’s mom always had breakfast prepared for the kids, and they all always ate dinner at the table. Morgan and Peter couldn’t recall the last time they ate dinner at the table as a family.

Though, they never complained. They knew that their dad was a very busy, and very well-known man, so they never voiced their dissatisfaction. They knew that it wasn’t by their dad’s decision.

Having your father be Tony Stark made you grow up  _really_ fast. 

It was a week since the twins first came to the Leeds, and although they missed their dad and Aunt Pepper and Uncle Happy and practically their routine life, they also enjoyed the simplistic life that the Leeds had here and basked in its normalcy.

That is, until aliens started attacking New York.

The Leeds household was in Queens, so the alien attack wasn’t happening precisely there- but still close enough to be worrisome.

Peter, Ned, and Morgan were all crowded around the living room television, nervously watching the news coverage of the newly-formed Avengers battling the armies from the sky.

Morgan and Peter had tried calling their Aunt Pepper multiple times before, but they knew she was on a plane and probably didn’t have the reception to answer their calls. And they were too nervous to call their father since he was, you know, fighting aliens and whatnot.

So they resorted to watching the live news broadcast of what was going down.

“Stop worrying so much, Mor,” Peter said to his twin, taking in the way she kept biting her nails and tapping her foot. He pointed at the screen just as it showed Iron Man knocking out a dozen aliens at a time. “Dad’s got this. Plus, look at all the help he’s got! Even Aunt Nat is there!”

Morgan gave her brother a stern look- a look that the whole family agreed she got from her Aunt Pepper.

“Your dad is so cool,” Ned said dreamily.

Peter grinned, his eyes flashing with pride. “Isn’t he?”

Morgan rolled her eyes and decided to ignore the two boys next to her. She just couldn’t help it if she worried. It just came naturally. Her full attention strayed back to the television, and she watched her fathers movements and whereabouts closely, not wanting to miss a single thing.

It wasn’t until the situation grew more dire, with the news of the missile heading straight their direction and the fact that the Avengers were clearly outnumbered, that Peter and Ned lost all of their prior enthusiasm and had watched the screen with disbelief in their eyes. 

“We’re going to die,” Ned let out an incredulous whisper, his eyes wide, unfocused, and shining with tears.

Before either of the twins could get a word out, the TV showed Iron Man attaching himself to the missile, and aiming themselves towards the wormhole. 

Morgan couldn’t help the scream that left her lips as she watched, and Peter’s knees gave out, both of them once again experiencing their worst nightmares.

“Dad!” Morgan screamed roughly as her father disappeared into the sky, her body seemingly unconsciously launching itself towards the television screen, as if doing so would save her dad. Peter caught his sister before she could harm herself and let the two of them fall to the floor, tears running down Peter’s face as he held his screaming and kicking sister.

“No, Peter, let me go right now! No! He’s not dead! He promised! He wouldn’t leave us! No! Peter! He’s not! Let me go, I need to get to dad! We need to do something!“ Morgan kicked and screamed with all her might, but Peter took every blow and held his sister close to him, his own sobs wracking his body.

Ned watched the scene close-by, his hand covering his mouth and with a pale, tear blotched face. He slowly removed his hand from his face, his eyes widening with a new sense of hope as he watched the screen. “Wait, you guys, look!” Ned had to scream loud enough to overpower Morgan’s cries, but he seemed to have done the trick because both twins had quieted down to watch the screen once more.

On it showed Iron Man’s body falling lifelessly down back to New York, before seeing the Hulk appear almost from out of nowhere and grabbing him before he could hit the ground. Since the news camera was so far away, they couldn’t see what happened next.

Everyone in the Leeds household was struck frozen and gaping. “Well,” Morgan said, her voice now raspy and rough from the pain. “Is he alive or not?”

Peter lunged up and held out his hand for his sister, wiping his wet eyes as he did so. “He’s alive. Mr. Hulk caught him. I-I’m sure he is. But we have to go. I’m not going to sit here and wonder. We’re gonna go see for ourselves.”

Morgan immediately grabbed his hand. “Ned, we’ll keep you posted.”

“Wait, how are you guys going to find-“ Ned started, but all that could be heard was the lock clicking on his front door.

_Well, shit_ , Ned though to himself. 

-

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that all bus lines are down,” Peter stated almost sarcastically, slowly taking in the state of the world around him. People were running back and forth, cars abandoned, no driving cars on the street, and the sky looked an eery shade of blue. 

“Uh, yeah, I think so,” Morgan’s voice came out in a whisper, and she was unsure if it was from the utter shock of her surroundings or if her voice was really starting to give out.

“We’ll just have to run there as fast as we can, Mor,” Peter said, knowing there was no way they’d be able to get to Stark Tower soon enough if they didn’t go by foot. Even if it would take hours, they knew that they’d rather go by foot rather than wait for someone to call and pick them up.

Morgan sniffed and squared her shoulders, shaking her head slightly as if to dispel any remaining traitor tears in her eyes. “Okay. You’re right. Let’s go.”

The run towards Stark Tower was no easy feat. Not only did it take them more than three hours to get there due to the distance (they were both sure that they had extreme blisters on their feet as a result), but the closer they got to the city the more they saw all the destruction.

Morgan lost count of all the dead bodies and ambulances she passed by. Peter couldn’t even comprehend all the buildings he’s been to that were now destroyed, making the city look almost foreign. Peoples homes were gone, people were crying on the street, and there were people looking desperately for their separated loved ones. They both stopped a few times to take a break, their body literally screaming for it as they’ve never exerted their body so much, and also to just come to terms with everything their 11 year old eyes were seeing. It was... a lot.

But every time they stopped, they felt something heavy settle in their soul, as if something in them told them  _how can you rest not knowing if your dad’s okay or not?_

And so they ran, chests heaving, sweat dripping, and heart beating rapidly fast, pulling each other back up when their exhaustion made them stumble, not willing to fully rest until they saw for their own eyes that their dad was okay. That he was  alive .

Finally, before the sun was able to fully set on the sky, Morgan and Peter Stark made it to Stark Tower. There was a swarm of what looked like reporters and police, but the two gave no care towards the group as they pushed through the crowd hurriedly to reach inside, ignoring the yells that came from around them.

Once they made it inside, they luckily didn’t have to run much further, because there near the entrance stood the Black Widow (or as they knew her to be: Aunt Nat) answering questions from reporters. But once the newly acclaimed Avenger caught sight of her niece and nephew, her eyes widened just barely for a fraction of a second before excusing herself to approach them.

“Aunt Nat… we…” Morgan managed to pant out, but before she could get another word out Natasha flicked her eyes to the tower’s private elevator, and the two shakily followed suit.

Once the elevator doors shut and they were finally free from the public eye, the twins turned to their Aunt. A sudden onslaught of “Where’s dad?” “Is he okay?” “Are you okay?” “We need to see him now” came out.

Natasha placed her hands comfortingly on the kids arms, aware of how pale, sweaty, and shaky they looked.“Your dad’s alive,” she stated plainly, never one to cut around the bush with anything, and also knowing that that was the only thing these two scared kids needed to hear.

At that, Morgan let out a relieved sigh and let her body rest against the elevator wall, but Peter’s knees buckled and he fell straight to the ground.

“Peter!” Morgan yelled, her throat feeling like fire, as she dropped to the ground to hold her brother. But Natasha was quicker, and she was calmer, too.

She held Peter’s face in both her hands, taking note of his labored breathing and slack face. “Pete, where is your inhaler?”

_Damn_ , Peter thought.  _ I am the worst asthmatic person ever. Dad’s gonna kill me for forgetting my inhaler again . _

He tried to let out a word, but it only came out in a wheeze, causing him to start a coughing fit. He resorted to merely shaking his head and Nat’s lips pursed.

“Okay, I’m going to call Bruce to look at you. He’s a doctor. You’ll be okay,” Nat said, stroking her nephew’s cheek softly. “Breathe, племянник.”

The elevator door to their floor had long been open, and so Natasha turned to her sobbing niece. She placed a hand to Morgan’s cheek to get her attention. “I’m going to need you to get yourself a cup of water in the kitchen and then sit on the couch. I’ll meet you once I make sure Pete’s okay with Bruce. He’ll be okay.”

Morgan could barely see through her tears, but taking one blurry look at her coughing brother, she nodded to Natasha and got up to do as she was told.

With one goal completed, Natasha whipped out her phone and immediately dialed Bruce. She rested her phone against her shoulder and leaned her head to its side so she could hold the phone without her hands, proceeding to move Peter into an upright sitting position and loosening his clothes.

Bruce answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Call the search off. They’re here at the Tower. I need you and Tony back here right now —  Peter is having trouble breathing. Asthmatic and without an inhaler. He looks like he just ran a marathon. Get here.”

Nat could hear the sharp intake of breath from Bruce. “Yeah, alright, I’m only a block away. I’ll alert Tony and then head there now.”

She cut the call and rubbed Peter’s back comfortingly. “Remember our breathing techniques, Pete? Breathe with me, okay?” She held Peter’s right hand against her heart and urged him to copy her breathing. But every time Peter took a sharp inhale, he burst into a coughing fit, making his face turn purple, unable to get air in his lungs.

“Peter,” Natasha called out, but Peter was beginning to pass out. “Shit,” She murmured, exhibiting the perfect face of calmness but her frightened eyes could not be disguised.

“Natasha!” Bruce called out, appearing from the stairs at her side, smartly with nurses running with him. The professionals wasted no time in lifting Peter onto a gurney, placing a mask against his face to get him to breathe.

Bruce was at Peter’s side at an instant, taking note of Peter’s current state as they wheeled. “Hi, Peter. I’m Bruce Banner. I’m going to take care of you right now, you’re going to be just fine.”

As Bruce approached of the hall, he turned around just to yell, “Tony’s should be touching down any minute now! Good luck!”

Nat took a deep breath and decided now was a good time to check in on her niece.

Natasha walked into the spacious living room, and unsurprisingly, her niece did in fact stayed true to her word and was currently resting on the couch with a cup of water in her hands.

As she approached the young girl, she realized that Morgan wasn’t entirely resting, but she had her eyes scrunched shut tightly and tears pouring down her face and neck, unmotivated to wipe them away.

“Oh, племянница,” Natasha spoke softly, sliding next to Morgan to hug her closely to her side. 

Morgan’s eyes popped open and she sloppily tried wiping her tears, turning her wide, brown eyes to her aunt. “Aunt Nat? How is Peter? Is he going to be okay?”

Nat smoothed the hair away from her face. “He’s going to be. He’s with Bruce Banner, he has the best care in the world right now. Don’t you worry about him.”

With that, Morgan let out a breath, but she still didn’t relax. “We thought he was dead,” she said in a whisper. Natasha didn’t need to ask who she had meant by ‘he.’ She knew she was talking about Tony.

“We were watching everything on tv at Ned’s place, and we tried calling Aunt Pepper but she wouldn’t answer... we saw dad bring the missile into space... and then fall down... we didn’t know what to do, didn’t know if he was alright, or... so we just, ran here.”

Natasha raised her eyebrows at the mention of them running from Queens to the Tower. It would’ve taken them at least three hours to make it here.

Morgan continued, “It was so horrible, Auntie Nat. People were screaming and crying everywhere, and there were so many people hurt, and I... I’m so tired. My feet are bleeding from the run. We barely stopped because we just kept thinking about dad and how much we wanted to see him and make sure he was alright,” Morgan sniffed, tears continuing to fall down her red face. “Where is he? I thought he died... he almost died....”

Morgan broke off into sobs, the full weight of the day weighing on her, and Natasha said nothing except hold the young girl to her as she clutched onto her, letting her cry onto her chest.

Another minute must have passed before a loud shout broke through the silence. “Peter! Morgan!”

Morgan stiffened in her aunts hold, and before anyone could get any word out, Tony ran in the room, eyes wide and crazed. Morgan took note of the fact that he looked pretty banged up, and scared, but not too bad. He hurriedly searched the room before his eyes fell on his crying daughter in her aunt’s arms, and he rushed forward. 

“Oh, Morgan,” he breathed, his tone every ounce of relief and love.

Morgan met him halfway, only slightly limping, throwing herself into her dads arms, her tears now staining his shirt. “Daddy,” Morgan cried and Tony felt his heart clench. The twins hadn’t called him ‘daddy’ since they were eight.

Tony swallowed deeply, and looked up at the ceiling, willing his own tears to stay back. It was only when he felt his daughter tremble in his arms from her sobs that he found the strength to speak. “Hey, baby girl. Shh, daddy’s got you. You’re okay. Thank god you’re okay.”

She only let out a louder sob and shook her head. Tony tried to pull away to get a good look at her but she only held on tighter.

“Munchkin, I’m going to need to get a good look at you, okay? I need to make sure you’re okay.”

Morgan allowed Tony to unwind her arms after a few more seconds, and once they had a bit of space between them to be able to actually look at one another, Tony kissed her forehead and wiped away her tears on his sleeve.

“Are you okay? Where were you guys? I called Ned’s mom and she told me you two had left hours ago...” Tony trailed off when Bruce had entered the room, and suddenly he and Morgan had all focus on Bruce. 

“How is he? Please tell me he’s okay,” Tony asked, his eyes shining with tears. Bruce was taken aback by this foreign side of Tony- vulnerable, scared, and a father who loved his kids more than anything.

“He’s doing fine,” Bruce started with to ease everyone’s anxieties, and Tony let out a sigh of relief as Morgan lessened her grip on her father’s hand. “We were able to get more oxygen in him and he was able to start breathing on his own again. We think the attack was more intense due to the exhaustion, and now he’s completely worn out. He fell asleep during procedure a few minutes ago but you’re more than welcome to see him.”

Tony grabbed Bruce’s hand and resisted the urge to pull him in a bear hug. “Thank you Brucie, I owe you one. Hell, I owe you a million for saving my kid.”

Bruce’s cheeks reddened. “It’s no problem.”

His eyes strayed to the young girl holding Tony’s hand, and he offered a small smile.

“Hi, Morgan, right? It’s nice to meet you. I’m Bruce,” he introduced politely, and Morgan gave a small smile back.

“Hi Dr. Banner, it’s nice to meet you too. Thank you for taking care of my brother.”

Bruce merely smiled. “I noticed that Peter’s feet were really cut up and bleeding when he came in, and Nat gave me the whole run down of what happened. How are you doing?”

Morgan blushed when she felt her dads eyes boring into her head. “I-“

“Her feet’s bleeding and she has a limp. It should probably be checked out, just in case,” Natasha cut in, knowing her niece well enough to know she’d lie and act like she was fine.

Tony looked like he wanted to say something, but decided he’d ask questions later and make sure his babies were okay now.

“Alright, we can go look you over in Peter’s room, that way you can see him and we can make sure you’re alright too. Sound okay?” Bruce asked kindly. Morgan nodded her head and offered a small ‘thanks’ as her dad and Bruce went over to each side of her to help her walk to the medical wing. 

Tony tossed a look over the side of his shoulder towards Nat, and she already knew that he was telling her to fill him in, without speaking any words. She nodded and texted him what she knew, before she decided to head out and check in with the team and fill them in too. She’d check on her niece and nephew later. They were in safe hands, now.

A thousand thoughts swarmed Tony’s head, the first and most prominent one being worry. Where were they the past few hours? Why weren’t they answering their phone? Why does Morgan look so exhausted and why is Peter in the medical wing? He felt his hands start to shake, a nervous tick of his.

Screw the fact that he’d just fought off an alien army, nearly died in it, and saw things that would likely traumatize him for years to come. Screw the fact that the team all knew about the twins now, and that some reporters might have gotten pictures that they shouldn’t have. He couldn’t care less about all of that, all he cared about was making sure his kids were okay.

Walking into the room where Peter was resting, Tony wanted nothing more than to just collapse on the chair beside him. Seeing your child in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines, regardless of the severity of it, never got any easier.

“Morgan, you could just take a seat over here and we can just do a once over to make sure everything is okay,” Bruce gestured to a seat right next to Peter’s sleeping figure.

Morgan had to force her eyes away from her brother, but she eventually did and nodded numbly to the doctor.

“Are you both okay?” Morgan said, her voice scratchy but strong nonetheless. “You two are the ones that just fought off an alien army, like, 3 hours ago.”

Bruce merely waved dismissively. “We’re okay. We got really lucky.”

Morgan’s eyes flickered to her dad, who was staring down at his phone with furrowed eyebrows. After a few more seconds, he locked his phone, stored it in his pocket, and then grabbed ahold of Peter’s left hand before looking over at Bruce. “How’s she lookin’, Brucie bear? Nothing too horrendous, I hope?”

Bruce gave her one more look over and checked her vitals once again. “Her feet are definitely cut up which I’ll patch up easily, and she most likely sprained her right ankle. Otherwise, she’s fine, albeit a little too tired and dehydrated for my taste. I’ll go ahead and grab you some juice to get your vitals back up.”

“Thank you,” both father and daughter said at the same time, and Bruce held back a laugh at the two.

“It’s no problem.”

Morgan inched closer to Peter and held his right hand.

“Hey, Pete,” Tony said, his voice wavering a little as he looked at his unconscious son. “I heard you and your sister had a hell of a day. I’m sorry to have put you through that... again.” Memories of the Seven Rings flashed through his mind, and he had to remind himself where he was before he’d panic.

Morgan gazed at her dad as he spoke, just then realizing how exhausted he looked.

“After everything blew over, the team and I went to get shawarma. I know, I know, but ever since we watched that one old movie last week I’ve been craving shawarma so there we went. I called you both so many times, and called Pepper, to check on you guys and pick you up. But, you didn’t answer. Pepper was panicked because once she got off her flight, she saw that you both had called her a dozen times. So, don’t be too surprised if she goes all mama bear on you two when she gets back.”

Tony took a deep breath here, rubbing his temple tiredly. “I... I was afraid something happened to you two. So I called a search party with a few of the Avengers, who, I gotta say, aren’t as bad as your old man thought, but we’ll get to that another day. We looked for hours and suddenly you come to the Tower and now we’re all here.”

Tony now rubbed his watering eyes, and he finally looked at his daughter sitting across from him, reaching over to grab her free hand with his own. “I’m sorry you both had to go through that. I’m so sorry. But I’m okay. We’re all okay. And I love you both, so much, alright? From this point on, you’re never leaving my sight. As a matter of fact, I might attach you both to my hip for good measure.”

Morgan let out her first laugh of the day, although it was a bit watery, and she gripped her dads hand tighter. “We love you too. And I don’t know if that’ll work for when I turn 16, dad. A girl’s got to have her space.”

Tony blanched and clutched his heart dramatically. “And so it begins. Hey, I never agreed for you to suddenly turn into a teenager. Absolutely no boys until you’re married at 30. And you’re no longer allowed to get older than 12. Dad’s rules.”

Morgan let out a mix between a laugh and a scoff. Her face suddenly grew softer as she gazed at her father. “Love you 3000, dad.”

Tony’s face wrinkled together in that rare, soft smile he reserved only for the people he held closest to his heart, and he softly ran his fingers over Morgan’s knuckles as he thought about the first time he ever heard Morgan say that at four years old while he was tucking her in for bed.

“And I love you 3000, Morguna.”

Bruce picked this opportune moment to come into the room with Morgan’s juice. “Thanks for everything, Dr. Banner.”

Bruce laughed almost nervously. “Wow, you have really great manners. But you can call me Bruce, Morgan. Really.”

Morgan, feeling a bit better after a few sips of juice, felt more like her usual, cheeky self. “Sure thing, Dr. Banner.”

Bruce laughed and then turned to Tony, who was watching the whole exchange with a fond and amused smile on his face. “Yep, she truly is your daughter. No denying that.”

Tony raised both his arms as if saying “what can I say” before winking at his daughter.

A few more hours passed with Peter still asleep, and Tony enjoyed sitting back with his daughter while he waited for his son to finally wake up.

The rest of the Avengers came and went, coming to check on Peter and also meet Morgan for the first time- as well as Peter too, though they’d have to give another visit for when Peter was actually awake for the meeting. It was sort of surreal for them, aside from Natasha of course, because no one had any idea that Tony was a dad, much less a dad type as well. But everyone was pleasantly surprised at the kindness and spunk that came with Morgan Stark, and especially at the amount of love that was filled in Tony’s eyes as he watched his daughter interact with his team.

After Tony sacrificed his life to save all of New York, and now witnessing him as a dad before their eyes, everyone was thinking that maybe they were wrong about Tony Stark. Maybe everybody was.

It was nearing 9PM by the time Morgan’s eyelids were growing heavier and heavier, her head lolling to the side every now and then, but she stubbornly kept her eyes open and kept a firm grip on her brothers hand.

“Morgan,” Tony called, after counting the 5th time she nearly fell off her chair. “Go to sleep, little miss. You’ve had a long day.”

Morgan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, something Tony knew she did when she was feeling stubborn or defiant. “No, I’m fine. I want to be here when Pete wakes up.”

“Honey, if you don’t get up off that chair and get to bed, your face is going to hit this ground pretty damn hard and I don’t think anybody in this room wants that,” Tony stated, and Morgan only sat up straighter. Tony released a deep sigh. “You’re dead on your feet. Literally. Your ankle’s sprained and I think you’ve had quite the eventful day so you’re body’s going to make you rest through force if you don’t go yourself. I’m here with Peter, I will not leave his side even for a second, and you can come back here the second you wake up in the morning. If anything goes wrong, which it won’t, I’ll have JARVIS alert you. Just, go to sleep and rest,  _please_ .”

Morgan’s shoulders released their tension and she let out a breath. “Okay, you’re right-“

“As always.”

“Never-mind, I take it back, I’m staying here all night-“

“Alright, alright, I’m just kidding little miss! Sheesh!” Tony raised his hands in mock surrender, and Morgan let out a giggle. “Now shoo, I don’t want to see you until you’ve had 11 hours of sleep.”

Morgan smiled amusedly before turning to Peter’s sleeping figure. “I’ll be back soon, okay? Don’t get into too much trouble without me.” She leaned forward to give her brother a soft kiss on the cheek.

“Do not tell anyone I just did that, especially Peter,” she threatened her dad, her eyes narrowing at his gleeful grin on his face. Tony pretended to zip his mouth, and Morgan rolled her eyes and suddenly threw her arms around her dad.

Tony let out a groan at the sudden embrace, but he wrapped his arms tightly around her anyway.

“Goodnight, dad,” Morgan whispered, feeling another wave of emotions. She almost lost her dad today... but he was here. She was hugging him. He was okay.

“Goodnight my girl,” Tony replied, pressing a kiss against the side of her head.

Once Morgan left the room, with the help of a nurse of course, Tony continued to work on his Starkpad, his eyes not leaving his work as he said, “JARVIS, keep me updated with Morgan. And I mean everything. Let me know if she leaves the room, let me know when she falls asleep and wakes up, and definitely let me know if she’s in any distress or pain.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Thanks, J.”

According to JARVIS, it only took Morgan lying in her bed for her to completely knock out. The young girl was exhausted. 

Tony was starting to nod off himself, the events of the day weighing on him too, when he felt the hand he was holding grip his tighter.

Tony’s head shot up and he was met with his son’s big brown eyes, which were wide and wet.

“Dad, you’re okay,” Peter’s voice cracked and Tony carefully pulled him into a hug.

“I’m okay, Pete, and so are you.”

Tony let his son cry onto his shoulder, his heart feeling heavy at the amount of tears that were shed today, particularly hurt that it was tears by his own two children.

Once Peter calmed down, Tony pulled away and placed a hand on his cheek, smiling softly. “There’s my boy. Good to see you up and about, kid.”

“Good to see you not dead,” Peter replied, and Tony let out a laugh.

“What? It’s true,” Peter said, shrugging. His eyes were red from crying but they were also shining as he looked at his dad, so incredibly happy that his dad was here and he was alright.

“Yeah, I get you kid. I heard you had a rough day. I’m... I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that, Pete. I hate myself for putting you and your sister through that.”

Peter shook his head vehemently. “No, it wasn’t your fault, dad. You saved all of New York! What you did was so incredible, but it was also so stupid so please don’t ever do it again. We can’t lose you.”

Tony knew he couldn’t promise Peter that he’d never pull a stunt like that again. He was Iron Man, first of all, so it was kind of part of the job description. Secondly, after the events of New York, Tony just knew that something else was coming. Something way, way bigger than anyone anticipate...

But that was for another day.

Now was about his kids, and getting them to feel a little less afraid and a little less sad. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, Pete. I’ll be here long enough to live off you and your sister by the time I’m old and wrinkly and able to use my age as an excuse to get you two to do whatever I want.”

Peter scoffed at the vision of his dad as an invalid elder. He knew that his dad would be changing the world for as long as he could, whether that be in his Iron Man suit or behind the monitor. Instead, Peter laid back against his pillows, completely content to just gaze at his dad for a few seconds, reminding himself that he was alive and breathing.

“I love you, dad,” Peter said, a grin on his face.

Tony got up to lean towards his son and placed a kiss on his forehead, before ruffling his hair playfully. “I love you, Petey. Always.”

The two remained in comfortable silence for a while, merely enjoying the presence of one another, before Peter broke the silence.

“So... the Avengers? Is it a sort of team? What’s all that about?”

Tony’s hand subconsciously flew up to touch his arc-reactor before explaining what he could to his son. Peter’s eyes glistened, eagerly taking in every detail he could. Morgan slept soundly upstairs. Pepper was on her way back home. The foundation of the Avengers was beginning.

And the rest is history. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Nope. Absolutely and indefinitely, no.”

“Dad!”

“Uh-uh. The adult is speaking. And the adult says nope.”

Peter groaned and threw his head back in exasperation. “Aunt Pepper!” He yelled, leading Tony to narrow his eyes at his son.

“You little shit, you did not just-“

Pepper walked into the room, her heels clicking and a knowing look on her face. Tony’s mouth immediately shut at her presence, and Peter stuck his tongue out at his dad playfully.

“I can hear you two bicker like children all the way from across the penthouse. Now, what on earth is going on now?”

“Dad won’t let me go on the field trip to Oscorp because he’s so threatened-“

“Woah woah woah there, Pete. Threatened? Me? Tony Stark? Iron Man? You wound me. I can’t believe my ears. My own son, _my_ _ flesh and blood_ _,_ believes that I, Tony Stark, am threatened by a lowlife such as Norman Osborn. Pep, do you hear this atrocity?”

Pepper rolled her eyes as Peter continued on, his voice growing whinier by the minute. 

“- and so I need to go, because if I don’t take the pictures then the school newspaper will be a bust and I’ll never be trusted again-“ Peter exclaimed, and Pepper held up a hand to silence both boys.

“Tony, why are you so adamant on Peter not attending this field trip?” Pepper asked calmly, mediating the conversation. 

Tony sighed, and Pepper could see in his eyes that he was conflicted in figuring out whether or not he should say the real reason why he was refusing Peter. “Oscorp is a horrible company run by a horrible man who has a major vendetta against me. If word gets out that my son is going to his company, then who knows what he’ll do? I don’t want to risk his safety.”

Peter faltered a bit at his explanation, never thinking that there was much more to his dad’s refusal other than his feeling threatened. “Dad, I’m fifteen. I’m not a kid anymore. Plus, you can’t protect me from everything. It’s just not how life works.”

Tony’s whole posture tensed and his eyes darkened slightly. “I’ll be damned if I can’t protect my  _child_ ,” Tony placed specific emphasis on the word ‘child,’ and Pepper could already feel the argument about to come up.

“Okay, okay, enough,” Pepper attempted to appease, putting her hands up in front of the two hard-headed Stark men. “Peter, you may be fifteen but you are still legally a minor and while not exactly a child, you are still not an adult. Tony, while you have every right as a father to look out for the well-being of your son, you can’t control his life and you can’t protect him from everything as much as you’d like to.”

Pepper paused to gauge the reactions of the boys, her eyebrow raised as if daring either of them to interrupt her. Both Tony and Peter kept their mouths shut, although they didn’t seem too happy about.

Pleased, Pepper continued on, “Now, Tony, while I get that you fear for the safety of Peter on this trip, I think it’s important to keep in mind that this is just a simple field trip. Peter isn’t being invited by Norman Osborn himself- he’s to go there on an educational basis with his class. If it worries you so much, why not send Happy to keep an eye on him, undercover of course, to make certain that nothing happens to Peter? That way, you’ll feel more at ease, and Peter gets to attend the field trip and get pictures for the school newspaper.”

Both boys pondered on that idea a moment. “Well, while I’m not entirely happy that I’m going to be followed around by Uncle Happy, I’m okay with that idea if it makes you feel better about it,” Peter stated, looking at his dad and then adjusting his glasses almost nervously.

Tony tsked. “How can I say no to those puppy dog eyes? Fine. Alright. But you stay close to your class and if you spot Norman Osborn, run the opposite way.”

Peter pumped his arm in the air and let out an excited “yes!” to which Pepper couldn’t help but to smile at.

“Thanks dad,” Peter crushed his dad in a hug, and Tony wrapped his arms around his son.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony said. “I already knew the battle was lost when you brought out the big guns,” he nodded towards Pepper.

But Pepper was already walking back to where she came from. “Nice talk, boys. Now go play nice while I run this business,” she replied as she walked away.

“Finally, are you both done arguing?” A new voiced added, now entering the room. “I was this close to calling Uncle Rhodey.”

“Yup, Aunt Pepper always gets the job done,” Peter replied sliding into the seat on the couch next to his sister.

Morgan lightly shoved him when he took a bite of her cereal. “Thank god for Aunt Pepper, or else I have no idea how dad would be getting on without her.”

“I think I’d be just fine since I have her little mini me as my baby girl,” Tony replied, smacking a kiss on the side of her head from behind the couch as he made his own way to the kitchen.

Morgan rolled her eyes, in the exact same way that Pepper does, Peter mentally noted, and she let out a little laugh. “You know, that’s actually a compliment. Because someone’s got to have sense around here.”

“Hey! I have sense!” Both Tony and Peter said at the same time, and Morgan gave them a look that just said  _I rest my case._

“Anyway,” Morgan raised her voice a bit higher so it could reach her dad in the kitchen, “Don’t forget that I’ll be at Aunt Nat’s tomorrow after school, dad!”

“Ah, I forgot, Fridays are girl days,” Tony replied, fake shuddering, “I don’t even want to know what goes down over there. Alright, you know the drill, Morguna. Call me as soon as Nat picks you up and as soon as you get to her place. Hap will pick you up the usual time.”

Morgan clicked her tongue and aimed finger guns at her dad in response, to which he rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. He’d never understand teenagers. 

* * *

_Made it to Oscorp! So far there are no signs of any evil scientists or bad men out to get me. But then again, the day’s still early._

_ Ha ha. Eyes up, kid. Don’t want this little lamb straying too far from the group.  _

Peter’s phone vibrated once more with another text from his dad. 

_ Stay safe .  _

Peter couldn’t help but simultaneously smile and roll his eyes. Even though Peter sometimes found his dad’s smothering all too suffocating, he wouldn’t be his dad without all the worrying. 

Replying back with a quick and affirmative  _yessir!_ , Peter tucked his phone into his back pocket, ignoring the glimpse he caught of his Uncle Happy not too far away from him, and instead pulled out his camera to take snapshots for the newspaper. 

“This is so cool!” Ned whispered to him, his voice excited and loud as they toured the grounds. “Does Avengers Tower look like this? When is it going to be complete, anyway?”

Before Peter could get a word out, their attention was stolen by a scientist performing an experiment about atomic science for the tour. 

“And now for a demonstration of how we can control radioactive rays here in the laboratory...” The scientist in the white coat began. 

Just as quickly as the demonstration started, Peter suddenly felt a harsh sting on his hand. “Ow!” He hissed, flicking his eyes down to his hand, only to see a spider. Peter’s brain barely had time to process the fact that the spider was glowing before he jerked his hand rapidly to throw the spider off him. 

The bump on his hand from the spider bite seemed unusually big... or was it because Peter’s eyes were beginning to blur over? He couldn’t tell. 

He heard applause from around him, no doubt over the demonstration, but Peter was already far gone. Why was his head pounding? Why was his heart racing? And why did he feel so sick all of a sudden?

He stumbled a bit to his right, his hand reaching out to grip whatever it could to feel a sense of balance, and that being an arm of the person next to him. 

“Peter?” Luckily, it was Ned that Peter had gripped. Getting a good look at his friend, Ned’s brows started to furrow as he took in his sweaty and pale appearance. “Hey, are you feeling okay?”

Peter stumbled once more, and Ned’s arms flew out to hold Peter still. “Woah there, alright, I think I should get you some help.”

Ned called out to their teacher, but Ned could only get his name out before Happy was beside Peter at an instant, keeping him still with firm hands. 

“What happened, Peter?” Happy asked, his voice calm. “Come on, you got to talk to me, kid.”

Peter tried to push back the pain as he gazed at Happy, muttering, “Head. Hurts. Spider. Glowing.”

This only made Happy more confused. 

“Excuse me sir, please let go of the young man.” Unaware of the attention that Peter had caused, he forced his eyes to look around the crowd he had began to form. 

Happy gave his famous scowl, not making any moves to pull away from Peter but instead moved him along with him. 

“I’m on his emergency contacts list. If you have an issue, bring it up with my superior,” Happy shoved a small card in the man’s hands, a card which no doubt contained Tony Stark’s contact information. 

Happy wasted no time in waiting to see the wide-eyed, bewildered expression that appeared on the man’s face and turned, shifting Peter so he could practically be holding him, and walked out of the institution. 

* * *

“He said  what ?” Tony asked, running his hand through his hair for what seemed like the millionth time. 

“Something about spiders and glowing and head hurting. I dunno. But in the car on the way here he also said something about spaceships and anteaters so,” Happy recalled the situation to his boss, who was undeniably stressed. 

“Don’t stress too much about it, boss. You know Peter, he’s always pretending everything’s fine until it all piles up and explodes in his face. He probably has been overworking himself at his genius school.”

Tony glanced over to his left, where he could see Morgan help give Peter a sip of water by his bedside through the crack of the bedroom door. “I guess you’re right, I’m just paranoid that Osborn did something to my kid. You sure nothing happened? You didn’t see anything out of the ordinary?”

Happy nodded. “Nothing. He was watching a demonstration with his classmates when he suddenly got all woozy.”

Tony sighed. “Alright. Thanks for getting him out of there, Hap.”

Happy clapped Tony’s shoulder before walking away. “Always.”

Tony watched his two babies for a minute by the doorway, taking note of the way that Peter tried to smile and downplay his pain to his sister, though Tony could see right through his facade. 

Tony clapped his hands as he entered the room, not noticing the way Peter flinched at the loud noise. “Alright, I think Petey over here needs some beauty rest, Morguna.”

Morgan looked over at her dad before she got up and pat her brothers hand, which laid still underneath the bed. “Feel better soon, you. Seeing you on bedrest is weirding me out.”

As soon as Morgan head out the door, Tony decided to sit at the foot of his son’s bed. “Rough day, huh, Pete?”

Peter gave a half smile. “Just a bit.”

Tony was going to press him some more about what happened, but taking another closer look at Peter’s face, he could see the mask he was putting on about how much pain he actually was in. So, Tony decided that he’d press Peter about it some more after he had gotten rest. The poor kid looked like he was one second away from letting himself succumb to the pain, but Tony knew that Peter wanted to be alone right now. 

“I’ll let you rest. Now you let me know if you need anything, and I mean _anything,_ you hear? If you so much as stumble on your way to get water, JARVIS will let me know. Just, rest up, alright?”

Peter nodded, too drained to do anything else. 

Tony gave one last worried glance at his son before he walked out the door. 

As soon as the door shut, Peter threw the covers off of him and he grasped his hand with the spider bite, intently studying the bump on his hand. 

He hissed in pain as he poked at it, and felt his vision begin to swim. He dropped his hand with a sigh and laid his head against his headboard, cursing the predicament he was in. 

Maybe he should have told his dad what happened, but Peter just didn’t want to make him worry more, especially since he was so worried about him going to Oscorp to begin with. 

Plus, he was sure he’d be able to deal with it. All he needed was a good rest, and when he woke up, he’d be as good as new... Right?

Wrong. 

When Peter awoke 4 hours later, it was already dusk outside and the penthouse was quiet- except, it wasn’t. 

Peter could hear everything. He could hear the heartbeat of his sister who was in the living room a few feet away from his room, and he could hear the tinkering of his dad who was all the way in the lab. He could hear horns honking and cars driving from outside, and he could also hear his own heartbeat speed up. 

“Oh, no no no no no,” Peter mumbled, reaching to rub his eyes but then pausing when he realized that he could... see. And his glasses were resting on the side table next to him. 

He threw his glasses on his face but immediately flinched at the extreme blurriness that followed, and he dropped the glasses back on the side table. 

Or, at least, he tried to. 

For some reason, his glasses were stuck to his hand. 

Peter’s eyes widened as he looked at the glasses stuck to his hand. “Holy shit!” He exclaimed, wiggling his hand in an attempt to get it off, but he ended up getting his hand stuck on his covers, eventually leading him to fall off his bed and onto his floor. 

“Peter?”

His dad’s voice suddenly cut through his closed door, and Peter paused, before hurriedly trying to situate himself back on the bed and look somewhat normal. 

“Pete?” Tony said again, his tone a touch more concerned after he didn’t receive a response. 

“Y-yeah dad?” Peter yelled, and he tried to calm his rapid heartbeat as he realized that he could hear every movement of his dad from out the door. 

Tony took this response to open the door and enter the room, eyeing his son not suspiciously, but intrigued. 

“How are you feeling? JARVIS informed me that you just woke up. That was quite a nap you had, sleeping beauty,” Tony said, sitting at the foot of his bed. 

“As good as I can be,” Peter replied, holding back a nervous laugh that tempted to come out. 

Tony continued to scan his sons face. “Well, you look a whole lot better, I’ll give you that. I don’t feel like I’m looking death in the eyes anymore.”

Peter rolled his eyes and laughed. “Too bad I feel like I am. This is what happens when I don’t get to work in the lab with you- you look older than you already are.”

Tony let out a scoff, but was secretly really relieved (and albeit a bit surprised) that Peter was obviously doing much better. “Yup, you’re all better. And you’re grounded. And no more brownies for you. Or nerdy science and math shirts with puns on it. Oooh, I can already feel your pain with that one.”

Peter let out a sarcastic laugh that widely resembled his dads. “You’re delusional, old man.”

“And you’re snarky, little boy.”

Peter opened his mouth to continue his banter with his dad, but he suddenly felt a sudden chill, the hairs on his neck and arms stood up, and the whole world seemed to still as if warning Peter:  _danger!_

“Morgan,” Peter mumbled, Tony seconds away from responding “what about Morgan?” with a confused look on his face, before a loud crash from down the hall reached their ears.

Both Tony and Peter hurriedly jumped from their spots and ran to reach Morgan in the living room. 

“What the hell?” Tony exclaimed out of shock, eyeing his daughter for any sign of injury.

“Sorry! I’m okay! Sorry,” Morgan rambled.

Scattered all around her were copious amounts of dirt and a large fallen plant on the floor, along with its shattered pieces from its pot all over.

Tony put his hand up, halting any more of his daughters movements as he got closer. “Don’t move, I don’t want you to stepping on any of those pieces. Let me go sweep it up first.”

“What happened to you?” Peter asked, amused and also a bit shaken over those weird senses that came to him before this had happened.

Morgan sighed. “I tried moving the plant. I just didn’t like the placement of it here, I tried ignoring it but I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I tried picking it up and since it’s a big plant it was really, really heavy and I couldn’t support its weight.”

Tony swept all around Morgan. “There. Done. As if your klutzy little moment never happened.”

Morgan lifted her foot to take a step, but Peter’s eyes zeroed in on a piece that Tony has missed.

“Mor, wait,” Peter said, and quickly went forward to crouch down and carefully pick up the piece that Morgan would’ve stepped on. Peter lifted it up before turning to throw it away. “Dad, you missed a piece.”

When Peter turned back to his sister and dad, they both were looking at him a little weirdly. “... What?” He asked, now feeling self conscious.

“How did you see that?” Tony asked, his eyes inquisitive. “You’re not wearing your glasses.”

Peter’s hand jumped, its first instinct to feel for the glasses that usually rested on his face, but he forced it down.

“It was a big piece, dad, kind of hard to miss,” Peter replied, hoping his lying was convincing. “Plus, I... wear contacts sometimes.”

“Since when? I don’t remember anything about contacts.”

“Since 2 months ago when you went on that trip to Dubai. I was growing tired and wanted to try something new, so I got contacts. Didn’t like them as much as I thought I would, so I only wear it occasionally. And today is one of those days.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed, not necessarily believing Peter but also wondering why he’d have any reason to lie about contacts. 

“Oooookay,” Tony replied, deciding to believe Peter for now and move on. “Morgan, no more plants for you, missy. You’re now forbidden from touching a plant. That plant was $200.”

“$200?! For a plant?!” Morgan exclaimed as she and her dad went to sit on the couch and went about their usual routine. “Dad, I know you’re like a billionaire, but that’s just pretentious.”

Tony shrugged and grabbed the remote for the TV, flipping through channels. “Pep thought it would look nice with our big windows. She got it shipped from South Africa.”

“I think I’m going to go rest a little more,” Peter interrupted, both eyes flying to him. “I’m still a bit tired from the whole passing out thing, so I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

“You sure? Do you need anything?” Tony asked.

Peter gave him a thumbs up. “I’m all good, dad. I’ll alert JARVIS if I need anything.”

As Peter retreated to the room, Morgan whispered to her dad, “Something’s off with Peter. Is he okay?”

“Everything looks fine, JARVIS approved, but I know what you mean. Maybe the events of the day are just making him feel off.”

“I guess.”

Peter shut the door to his room and he slid to the floor, his heart beating fast. He should not have heard that conversation. A regular person would not have picked up on that. He shouldn’t have been able to hear that far, and he shouldn’t suddenly have 20/20 vision, and he shouldn’t be sticking things. And he definitely should not be getting those weird, chilly feelings where all his senses go off before something bad happens.

What was happening to him?

Peter thumped his head against the door, closing his eyes to take a deep breath. And when he opened them, he was looking directly at his window, and an idea suddenly popped in his mind.

“JARVIS, I’ll be right back. Do not alert my dad about my absence.”

“Sure, Peter. But if boss were to ask about your whereabouts, I am required to answer him.”

Peter paused for a second, cussing under his breath, before he looked up at the ceiling. “Fine. That’s fine, I’ll be back soon anyways. Thanks, JARVIS.”

“You’re welcome, Peter.”

Throwing on a hoodie, Peter hopped up and peered his body out of the window, taking one long deep breath before he placed his hands on the outside walls of the building, a spark of adrenaline lighting through him when he found that he was firmly sticking onto the wall. 

He held his breath as he shifted completely out of his bedroom and crawled outside, trying to ignore the panic pulsing through him as he avoided looking down.

“Okay, alright, we’re okay, wow,” Peter breathed to himself, his eyes wide.

Peter slowly lifted his right hand off the wall before he placed it forward, and soon Peter began crawling along the building, growing more and more confident as time grew on. 

“Oh my god,” Peter couldn’t help but exclaim. “This is the coolest thing to ever happen to me.”

Peter even took a risk in standing on the building, and had to hold back a shriek when he stood on the side of the building, nothing but his feet holding him in place. 

Every law of gravity and every law of human order flitted through Peter’s mind, and none of it made sense with his situation. Was he still human, or was he a mutant? Was he half spider? 

How is all this even possible?

Remembering that he was operating on tricky timing, Peter crawled carefully back into his bedroom, mentally making plans to wall crawl some more the next day. 

His feet landing lightly on the floor of his room, Peter felt so much lighter. He felt much more graceful, and the world all around him made so much more sense for some reason. 

Almost immediately after Peter case back into his room, the hairs on his neck and arms stood up, warning him that something was approaching him, and Peter knew his dad was walking to his room as soon as he picked up on his heartbeat and footsteps. 

Throwing off his hoodie and jumping back into his bed, Peter threw the covers over his head and pretended to sleep. 

The door opened and Tony stood at the doorway, taking in the lump on the bed. 

“JARVIS, how’s he doing?” Peter heard Tony ask. He crossed his fingers, praying to whatever God there was up there to have JARVIS not snitch on him. 

“Peter is doing exponentially better in comparison to his state five hours ago. He is no longer exhibiting any signs of pain or injury.”

Peter let out a low breath of relief at the same time his dad let out a breath- one he was no doubt holding in. 

“So he’s completely fine? Just like that?” Tony asked, inching closer in the room. 

“It appears so, sir.”

There were a few seconds of silence, and Peter would’ve thought that he had left the room if he hadn’t heard his dad’s steady heartbeat. 

Eventually, Tony moved to Peter, softly pulling the covers so it would tuck around his head rather than suffocate him. He lightly brushed some hair that fell over his sons eyes, before softly caressing Peter’s cheek for a few seconds before Tony cleared his throat and pulled away. 

“Thanks, J. Let me know if any problem arises.”

Peter heard Tony retreat from the room, and his hearing followed his footsteps all the way to Tony’s lab. 

Peter eyes flew open, and he let out a deep breath.  _Am I really going to hide this from dad?_ Peter thought to himself, conflict shining in his eyes. 

Peter sucked in a breath and weighed his options. 

_If I tell dad_ _,_ Peter thought,  _then I’ll never be able to go out again. Dad will be even more worried, and I haven’t even been able to really experience these new abilities yet…_

As much as Peter didn’t want to lie to his dad, he knew his mind was already made up.

Plus, he would tell his dad the truth  _after_ he had the chance to really hone in on his new powers. He couldn’t put an exact time he’d tell him, but you couldn’t time these things! It takes time.

_What could possibly go wrong anyways?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I’m back! 
> 
> I wasn’t sure if I should continue this story, because honestly I could’ve just left it as is with the first chapter, but then I was getting comments from you guys saying I should continue it and I’m always extra eager to please so I started writing it in my notes buuuuut I never finished it. 
> 
> But with this quarantine, I’ve been bored and so I was looking through my notes and found this, and decided that maybe I want to continue this story. So, if this chapter felt short, well, that’s because it is. 
> 
> Hopefully I make up for it next chapter (if I do continue!). 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you’re all doing good during these chaotic times! Stay home, stay safe, and take care of yourselves. Until next time my friends! x


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